They Paint Horses, Don't They?

I don't know about you, but I just looooove the big ole' primitive white or whitish painted horses used in design! The patina of the chippy paint, the size ( I like using bigger pieces now rather than a lot of small ones) and just the nobility of a horse draw me to them.

I know I have seen some fabulous ones on some of your blogs, but I didn't keep the links. I can't even imagine the cost of one that is a true antique, but I love this reproduction from Restoration Hardware

and this one from Wisteria

but of course, they are still too pricey for me. So I did what I always do to scratch the itch of wanting a pricey piece-I found a cheap one and painted it.

It's about 12" tall, not quite as big as I would like, but it was cheap and solid wood. So after layer, and layer, and layer and layer of paint.....

I think it will do.....for now.

Now I am going to gallop on over to Kathleen's Faded Charm for a wonderful weekly perusal of White Wednesday posts.

Makes Me Wanna Downsize!

OK, so this is just too cute! This article in the NY Times shows photos by Trevor Tondro of the cottage Sandra Foster remodeled. The story is interesting. It doesn't have a bathroom or a kitchen but it is so much fun to look at...especially for me right now juggling a move to a house, a remodel of a house and the sale of a house and oh yeah, moving shop inventory.

I think it is worthy of a White Wednesday hosted by Kathleen of Faded Charm! I love to go look at all the beautiful whites. Thanks, Kathleen!

She's a doll...

I just love these soft little white shoes.

Oh, and I love what they were

outfitting when I bought them at an estate sale nearly 30 years ago.

I am no doll expert, but many of you out there could probably tell

me quite a bit about her. At that time, all I knew is that she had belonged to a doctor's

little girl and was supposed to be really old.

She was the first doll I had ever seen that had teeth and real human

hair. She was wearing some old clothes that I kept but

I always had her dressed in this christening gown and cap I bought just for her.

My daughter never played with her...she had some Madame Alexander and Effanbee

dolls that were much more user friendly and she really preferred stuffed

animals to all of them! Sometimes don't you think you have to

grow up to really appreciate a doll?

Please be a doll and see what beauties are waiting under White Wednesday posts on

Kathleen's blog, Faded Charm! Thanks, Kathleen!

Truly Toilet Tissue Trivia

I buy white toilet tissue. Honestly, I don't even know if they make toilet paper in pastel colors anymore. I have only bought white as long as I can remember. And speaking of getting old, one thing I have noticed is that there are many different different styles of toilet tissue holders. I remember years ago, I lived in a house that had an ornery toilet paper holder. Don't know why I didn't just buy a new one and change it out, but I didn't. They seem to have improved over the years, or at least the ones I have had. I won't bore you with photos of all the different kinds. I will only bore you with two.

Toilet Tissue Holder #1

I think this one is pretty. It is nickel which matches all the hardware in this house. By the way, I had my hubby take this photo and he was being cute, so he is responsible for the hotel "V". This holder works well, but you know, I said I was getting older and you do have to kind of use both hands and take out the center rod and put the roll on it and get it back in place just right.

Toilet Tissue Holder #2

I think this one is pretty, too, because it matches all the hardware in our other house. But this one is so very useful. You just slip the roll right on the rod! Easy! Even when your hands are sore from all the painting. I took this photo and of course I couldn't let my hubby outdo me, hence the hotel "V" again.

One other thing: I drew this years ago and have since kept it next to the toilet paper holder and you know, the holder is very rarely empty!

I told you it was Trivia! While you're just sitting there, pop on over to Faded Charm and say hello to Kathleen and thank her again for hosting another White Wednesday!

What Billie Joe threw off the Tallahatchie....

Ok, so maybe it's not the Tallahatchie Bridge, but this was what I found on the banks of the Bosque River under a bridge not too far from my home in Crawford, Texas. It WAS a brass chandelier that had been on fire and I guess that is why someone ditched it. So my husband and I looked at each other as if to say "Somebody threw away a perfectly good chandelier?"

We stripped out all the electric wiring and light bulb sleeves and I painted it and then glazed it. Some pieces were missing, but nothing that a few pearl strands from the Christmas tree, some new crystals, some finials from a curtain rod and a few other baubles couldn't fix. And then, of course, it had to have candles. It hangs in our bathroom near our bathtub.

Clever hubby hung it on a pulley system so it can be raised and lowered to light the candles.

I apologize for not taking BEFORE photos and my good camera is on the fritz so I had to use my iphone. Hey, perhaps Billie Joe wasn't throwing something off the bridge after all....or if he did, maybe he realized its potential and was trying to retrieve it!

Thanks to Kathleen at Faded Charm for hosting White Wednesday! Be sure to visit her!

White Owls and a Bagpiper

As I wrote in an earlier blog, I like to paint discarded figurals white. For some reason, that process just seems to lessen the flaws for me. This antique bagpiper lamp had several flaws and, although I found it endearing in multicolors, for me, it needed to be white. I left the base and rod an antique brass which went well with the color of the lampshade. It just updates it...to me.

I painted these ceramic owls white too. They weren't really flawed, and not antiques, but I wanted to mix them in with some white pieces that I keep on shelves above my desk in the kitchen.

And the owls, the ironstone and other pieces all hold desk supplies within handy reach, so they're not just pretty faces!

Thanks again to Kathleen at Faded Charm for hosting White Wednesday and while you are there, check out her giveaway!

White Wednesday

I thought I would add something to the White Wednesday posts since I love to decorate with white. My antique church railing is a great room divider and has many uses. It was actually in a yard when I found it and bought it years ago. I painted it and sweet hubby added shelves on one side and huge rolling wheels so I can move it although it is VERY heavy. I love the gothic shapes. Right now it stores magazines and decorating books, but it is also very handy as a bar or server.

Don't forget to run over to Kathleen's blog Faded Charm and see other participants.